What are you reading?

The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss

Can't put it down, but I will to type this recommendation! "George Being George"/Nelson W. Aldrich, Jr.

book of essays by gay talese

and bio of patricia Bosworth

and bio of joey Stefano (gooooood)

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid

by Douglas R. Hofstadter

…………………………………………………………………………..catcher in the rye...……………………………………………………..

Tana French. Somebody turned her onto to me and my favs are The Likeness and Faithful Place. Set in Dublin.

Datalounge, silly!

Sunburn by Lauren lippman

R6, isn't it someone turned you on to HER?

Thanks, R2. I knew a book like that would be coming out. I'll order it from Amazon. Sadly, Plimpton died the day after signing a contract to write his memoirs, such a double loss.

I'm currently reading Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.

I just finished The Hearts Invisible Furies, by John Boyne. Flawed but a addictive (for 700 pages). Half way through the House of NAmes, from Colm Toibin (very good).

I like Tana french too, r6, but she does need an editor, her books are generally 200 pages longer than they should.

I read that book, OP.

The Bernie Gunther detective novels by Philip Kerr, who sadly died just recently.

I've just started American Pastoral by Philip Roth. The fellow doing a memorial tribute on CBC Radio a week ago said it was Roth's best novel so I'll be interested to see how it goes. I just finished Berlin Alexanderplatz by Alfred Doblin so I do want something a bit less mentally taxing.

....

R12 It's a great book

Nutshell by Ian McEwan. I like Ian McEwan's books but this one is just weak.

Is there a gay in Nutshell, r17?

House of Mirth by Edith Wharton - someone on here recommended it as a favorite book, so I'm reading it. I'm only about 1/4 into it, but I am really liking it so far!

My Ex-Life by Stephen McCauley - Over the course of his 7 books, I feel like I’ve grown up with this smart, funny author. This new one is very good and resonates particularly for those of us in ‘late middle age’.

The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn, a compilation of the first 4 Melrose books. It's rather tough to get into, hope I can stick with it.

"Gracefully Insane" by Alex Beam. Which is not about some of the people who frequent the DL.

It's a history of McLean's, Harvard Medical's mental hospital. Except (so far, I'm only up to about WW One) it wasn't so much about treatment then as hiding some of the crazier Boston Brahmins out of sight. Later it was Rick James and Ray Charles and Edie Sedgwick, but back then it was chronic masturbators who would otherwise be running International Harvester.

the Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. - neal stephenson

R18 No

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

I recommended House of Mirth R19. Glad you are liking it.

I recently finished Andrew Hollinghurst's latest, The Sparsholt Affair, which was excellent, almost as good as his very best, The Line of Beauty.

Now reading Christodora by Tim Murphy which is a chronicle of East Village NYC life beginning in 1980's and follows a large cast of gay and straight characters.

I loved My Ex Life too! McCauley is underrated esp. since Greer is now a Pulitzer winner (his former teacher Ed White must be so so happy about that).

R27 I'm rereading Stephen McCauley's "The Man of the House", one of his best books.

I agree that he's underrated ; I like how bitter sweet his books are.

Echoing the love for Stephen McCauley—loved his new novel. Also love The House of Mirth and Cristadora.

Reading There There by Tommy Orange now.

I listened to a Fresh Air podcast with Steven McAuley yesterday and I don’t think Terri Gross brought out the best in him. She said she loved the new book but the interview did make me want to read it.

I may give it a shot since you guys seem to have liked it.

Just finished The Black Penguin by Andrew Evans. Great Book! True story of him taking a bus from DC all the way to Antarctica, all the while relating those experiences to him growing up as gay in a mormon family.

Speaking of Greer R27, I just finished "Less". Which I liked, but couldn't reconcile the seemingly omniscient third person narration with the revelation that the narration was neither third person nor consequently omniscient.

I love the description of Arthur's kisses: "He kisses—how do I explain it? Like someone in love. Like he has nothing to lose. Like someone who has just learned a foreign language and can use only the present tense and only the second person. Only now, only you. There are some men who have never been kissed like that. There are some men who discover, after Arthur Less, that they never will be again"

Create a reading challenge for yourself It's the best way to fall and stay in love with reading

[quote]Create a reading challenge for yourself

What does this mean?

I do my own Goodreads challenge each year, but it’s not based on different types of books; I solely post a number I’d like to reach.

I just read. I don't need some artificial stimulus. I order whatever looks good to me at any given point in time, including books I find in these threads, for which I am ever so grateful.

James Purdy, 63: Dream Palace

I'm just now at the mid point of "Gone With the Wind" after years and years of intending to read. It's beautifully written, and very surprising as some things weren't depicted in the film. I had no idea that Scarlett had two children before marrying Rhett - a boy to Charles Hamilton and a girl to Frank Kennedy. I'm glad I finally committed to reading it.

R38 that’s on my TBR

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson

The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories - Michael Cox and R.A. Gilbert (1986)

Man-Size in Marble, Squire Toby's Will, and The Clock are the ones I like the best so far.

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

The Color Purple.

To the folks who liked Tim Murphy’s Christodora, I highly recommend Rebecca Makkai’s new novel, The Great Believers. It’s wonderfully written and covers similar territory. It just came out; I read it in less than three days.

Also, Edmund White being Andrew Sean Greer’s mentor made me think of Philip Dean Walker’s At Danceteria and Other Stories - a collection of short stories that explores the AIDS epidemic through a lens of celebrity. Walker’s mentor was White’s fellow Violet Quill member, Andrew Holleran.

The House of Mirth is one of my favorite books. Lily Bart should be a gay icon.

I couldn’t agree more with your last paragraph, R44.

"Tin Man" by Sara Winman. A beautiful, heart breaking book. Definitely looking into if you are attracted to sad, melancholy books. It is about love, loss, friendship, aging, loneliness. Just a lovely, lovey book.

Arthur Laurents' autobiography.

Over Easy by Mimi Pond. It’s a graphic novel about a waitress in 1970s Oakland. Pretty funny and obviously a quick read.

My guilty pleasure each summer is the new Stephen King book. Just finished "The Outsider" - great setup, but the gears click in the last third. Still very readable, but not very scary.

The best new book of the year by far is Mark Helprin's "Paris In The Present Tense." His prose is so glorious, I found myself rereading entire pages just for the sheer joy. The book is full of air, so breathable and lightly scented, creating the most pleasant environment in which to have a lofty conversation about what places art, music, and love have in our lives, and in the world of Apple and Exxon. Especially recommended for older (65+) readers!

Reading Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics. Hitler not only wanted to rule the planet, he wanted to control all the art that anyone could see or hear. He viewed himself as an artist and a master architect and wanted to make Germany the artistic center of the world. As well as confiscating art, he subsidized it on a massive scale. The author is very cool and very damning about Hitler and his delusions.

Bonfire of the Vanities.

Rachel Cusk’s Outline, Transit and Kudos. Declining quality over the three. Outline recommended though.

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Reading a biography of Mme. de Sevigne by Frances Mossiker and just finished Casebook by Mona Simpson. Simpson is terrifically moving, Thanks for the headship on McAuley.

The Patrick Melrose Novels by Edward St. Aubyn. Intense.

Just finished The Secrets Between Us. The always amazing Thrity Ulriger.

How Democracies Die. We're basically finished.

Sweet Caress, William Boyd’s Latest.

Boyd’s Any Human Heart is one of my favorite novels of the last 20 years.

An Education by Tara Westover. Harrowing.

Once is Not Enough by Jacqueline Susann.

I'm almost at the end of her bibliography. Super sad that she passed away so soon. Her books are engaging.

All the Light We Cannot See by Doerr

What? NO ONE reading any of the wonderfully captivating trashy novels by Jackie Collins?!! "Hollywood Husbands," "Rock Star," "The Stud," and the Lucy Santangelo series of books?!! Trashy at it's absolute BEST!

R63 Will be starting on Collins after I get done with Susann!

I loved both of Celeste Ng's books.

My book. It sucks. But it sold.

R64 - start with the very first "Lucky" book, then go according to publishing dates for the sequels. Good stuff!

R66, Please tell us about it.

A stuttering man befriends a Mexican American.

I befriended a Mexican American once, poor guy. Didn't speak a word of English except to say "Thank you, my friend." Turns out he was brought to town by one of the local nutcases who he THOUGHT he was friends with from a city two hours away. The nutcase abandoned him, but he found his car and sat on my neighbors porch across the street for the longest time. It was when I was getting into my car to leave that I inquired of his welfare. Unable to speak English, he only pointed to the car belonging to the nutcase and I understood completely. I offered to take him through the drive thru of Hardees and to buy him two burgers/two fries/two dollars. On the way to Hardees, he grew restless and began pointing wildly at Dee's Bar not too far away, and I again understood. I got him the meal, and dropped him off at the bar after BRIEFLY considering giving him a ride home two hours away, but I was due at a wedding reception so that was not on the table. I let him out at the bar, and it was then that he made eye contact with me and said "Thank you, my friend!" I sure hope he made it home.

This. I have to read it for my job and must admit it's much more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

R68

I am reading Westover's book finding the dysfunction tedious rather than harrowing.

Cecil Beaton At Home by Andrew Ginger. A biography through a review of his homes. I thought I knew a lot about him but the author included a section on his lover who was half his age and quite a hunk.

I'm on about page 600 now (about 250 more pages to go) - and I'm really enjoying it.

It’s slightly torrid, but good.

R71 What kind of company makes you read a Jesus book as part of the job (unless it's a Jeebus company)?

Yeah. Hobby Lobby?

The Crown: The Inside History

My Life by Georgette Carmichael

Madness Under the Royal Palms: Love and Death Behind the Gates of Palm Beach.

Interesting. Any Palm Beachers here?

Bare by George Michael/Parsons

R63 I read them all.

Another vote for Celeste Ng’s books.

R83 I just finished Ng's Little Fires Everywhere and loved it. A very talented writer.

R81 Do you have online link ?

I'm reading Patrick Gale's The Facts of Life. I really like his stuff.

I was given a recommendation on "The Half-Drowned King" a few months ago, and tried and tried to get into it, but for a supposed Viking family drama, it was just talky and boring.

So instead this summer I've been rereading some old favorites, at least for now. Donna Tartt, Zadie Smith, even Tom Robbins. Still Life with Woodpecker changed my life when I was a teen; it till makes me smile, makes me think, and brings back great memories of where I was and who I was with and all the fun I had in the era.

Finished Tara Westover's memoir "Educated" which I disliked, as it was full of grim dysfunction; moreover, she paints herself as some sort of savant, that was truly difficult to buy into.

Moved on to Paul Theroux's "Deep South" which is proving much easier to get into than I'd expected.

Armistead Maupin's "Logical Family." Not sure what I think apart from the fact that we all have families. Just not his family.

I'm most of the way through "Insomniac City: New York, Oliver, and Me" which I highly recommend to folks reading this thread. For those unfamiliar with the title, Bill Hayes and Oliver Sacks were a couple in the years leading up to Sacks' death.

However, it's not at all cashing in on that relationship, but shows the private side of Oliver Sacks that no one else could have ever seen; in his 70s he fell in love with Bill, gradually becoming less repressed.

The book is also about San Francisco transplant Hayes' view of life in NYC, decidedly NOT from any sort of high-flown lifestyle. He succeds in fusing the two aspects together, rather than grafting his own story onto a "hook" featuring his famous partner.

Audiobook is very well narrated.

Thanks, r90. I just ordered that.

Here's Why You Should Actually Read The Books Your Friends Recommend To You

Christodora recommended by someone here in another thread

Evasion English Dictionary

Rat Bohemia

Catherine Oxenberg's book is incredible.

the Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.

Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd.

Just started it but good so far.

Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse #1) by Charlaine Harris

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

R52 Some of those buildings by Albert Speer were very handsome.

Michael Graves loved them.

The Wise Man's Fear (The Kingkiller Chronicle #2) by Patrick Rothfuss

Has anyone read Ottessa Moshfegh's latest, My Year of Rest and Relaxation?

I loved Eileen but she OM just keeps writing the same book. Couldn't get through this latest one.

I recently dropped a credit on Ottessa's book to fulfill a promotion at Audible. However, I have my doubts about the story if she's well off and whining about her first world problems

Just finished Tab Hunter, Confidential. I wanted to find out more about him since his death last month and am glad I did. He was a wonderful, down-to-earth guy who made millions of people happy, at least for a while.

I just turned the last page of Reckless Daughter, a biography of Joni Mitchell. It was pretty amazing. Although I love her early records, I have not been able to enjoy anything she recorded after, about, Mingus. The book did an excellent job of describing all of her albums, and the inspiration behind them. It also was very illuminating about her character. I always wanted to meet her, even knowing she would make me sit in the smoking section and blow smoke in my face, but I'm not so sure now. She does not seem like a very likable person. She is brilliant, though.

R103 Tab was gorgeous but his memoirs revealed he was a strong Christian who seemed incapable of organising a career or staying in the same house for more than 5 years,

R102, lotsa luck. Maybe it will be bearable listening to it.

Sadly, I think Ottessa's a one-trick pony.

He did seem to settle down the last 20 or 25 years of his life r105 after he retired. Very little of that is mentioned in the book because it was published in 2005. It seems toward the end he was content to be on his ranch with his horses and was happy to lead a life where he was not recognized much at all. I wonder if he went back to using his real name after he retired. Overall, Allen Glaser seemed to be good for him. Yes, I did get the Christian thing, but didn't seem to be pushy about it, and as a gay guy was able to take from it what he needed and leave the rest aside. Some parts of his autobiography are really funny, one of them being his having to work with Tallulah Bankhead when he went on the stage in the early '60s after his heydays of the '50s. One of the things I wondered about was how friendly he was with Liberace, but he mentions him only a few times in the book. Both were devout Catholics.

I don’t understand how My Ex-Life is a bona fide bestseller. It is so mediocre. (Ok, I guess that explains it being a bestseller.) But even so- how are people buying into this shit? A totally unlivable Will and Grace that don’t feel part of 2018 (not unlike the reboot), the weird subplot of the daughter doing online porn.... no. PASS.

My college friend wrote all the light we cannot see

The Bookshop of Yesterdays. A woman is left a Silver Lake bookshop by her uncle she hasn't seen in years. Had a feeling I had read it before l; a chapter in, it eminded me of Tell the Wolves I'm Home, in which an uncle leaves his niece a teapot that spurs on her uncovering of his life and loves. Bookshop is more a lighter family mystery and, so far, no GLBT characters. In Silver Lake. Really?

12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson